Sriracha Apple Grilled Cheese
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Now this, is a sandwich worth gushing over! The classic grilled cheese sandwich will always have a place in our hearts, but if you're looking to kick things up a notch, you have to try this Sriracha apple grilled cheese! Sweet apples, melty cheese, and a little heat nestled between two pieces of crispy, buttery bread ā yum!
If you're looking for another perfect dipping candidate for your soup, try these bite-sized grilled cheese croutons!
One of the secrets to this apple grilled cheese's greatness is the Sriracha butter. Instead of adding straight hot sauce to the inside of the sandwich, which might get a bit soggy, you combine butter and hot sauce and slather it on the inside of the bread! It melts into the sandwich while cooking for a delicious, spicy bite with every mouthful!
Ingredients for apple grilled cheese
Here's what you'll need to make this epic sandwich:
Softened butter: You'll use regular butter for the outside of your bread, and the sriracha butter for the inside of the bread. Sriracha: combine 1 teaspoon of sriracha or your favourite hot sauce with some butter to add a little heat to your apple grilled cheese.
- Chili flakes: this is optional, but adding chili flakes to the sriracha butter is a great choice for those who like to turn up the heat.
- SlicesĀ of bread: You will need 4 slices of bread. You can use your bread of choice for this recipe.
- Cheese: Use your favorite type of melty cheese; we used cheddar with a little parmesan. You'll need enough to layer the sandwich in this order: bread, butter, cheese, apple, more cheese, butter, bread.
- Apple: Half an apple will do! Core it and cut into apple slices. Tart apples are a great choice, like a granny smith apple, however, you can use any kind you like ā it'll all taste good!
How to make an apple grilled cheese
With 5 minutes of prep time, you'll be ready to dive into your apple grilled cheese in 10 minutes tops! Here are the steps you'll take to make grilled cheese with apple:
- Make the spicy butter: Mix together your butter and sriracha (and chili flakes, if using)
- Assemble your sandwich: Use regular butter on the outside of each slice of bread and then coat the inside with the spicy butter. Layer cheese, apple, and more cheese and top your sandwich.
- Cook: Add your sandwich to the pan and cover it with a lid. Cook for a couple of minutes, or until the cheese melts and the outside is golden brown.
What kind of cheese is best for grilled cheese?
When it comes to your sriracha apple grilled cheese you have some cheesy decisions to make. Cheese that melts well is always a good call, so if you have any of these in your fridge, it's game on:
Aged or sharp cheddar cheese: this recipe was tested using aged cheddar (plus a little grated parmesan on top for extra flavor!)
- Brie
- Havarti
- Jack
- Gruyere
- Gouda
Dairy-free apple grilled cheese
Dairy-free friends should not be left out of this apple grilled cheese heaven. To make this a dairy-free version all you have to do is use your favorite non-dairy or vegan cheese and butter and follow the recipe using these substitutions.
If you have a brand of dairy-free cheese that melts really well, definitely opt for this one. Daiya cheese, for our Canadian readers, is a great choice!
Substitutes for Sriracha
Maybe you don't have any on hand, or perhaps where you live this bottled wonder is hard to come by ā but don't fret! There's some other runner ups that you can substitute to make the hot sauce butter that will taste great in a grilled cheese with apple!
- Tapatio
- Tabasco or tabasco and ketchup
- Sambal Oelek
- Gochujang
Recipe FAQs
How much cheese should I use for an apple grilled cheese?
We like to use about 2 ounces per grilled cheese. This amount is perfectly cheesy without being too cheesy ā yes that's a thing. Put too much cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich and it will ooze out the edges.
What type of apple should I use for apple grilled cheese?
Tart apples are a great choice, like Granny Smith, Pink Lady, or McIntosh.
Is this really spicy?
No, it's not overly spicy. If you'd like more heat, definitely add the optional chili flakes!
How to I make more Sriracha butter?
Great question! You can follow our Sriracha butter recipe to make a larger quantity.
Sriracha Apple Grilled Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoons softened butter (plus more to butter the bread)
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes (optional)
- 4 slices bread
- 4 ounces cheese (see notes)
- Ā½ apple (cored and sliced)
Instructions
- Mix the butter with the sriracha and, if using, the chili flakes in a small bowl.1 teaspoons softened butter, 1 teaspoon sriracha, 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- Butter one slice of bread with plain butter then turn the bread over and butter the other side with the Sriracha butter. Add the cheese, apple slices, and more cheese. Top with the other piece of bread then butter the top.4 slices bread, 4 ounces cheese, Ā½ apple
- Heat a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the sandwich and cover the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until the cheese has melted, and the bread is brown and crispy. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
For more inspiration, check out all of our sandwich recipes!
Oh, this looks amazing! I’ve had quesadillas with apples/cheddar in them, which I LOVED, but I’ve never tried a grilled cheese with apples, I don’t think. This sounds wonderful – great combo of flavors + textures!
Apple cheddar quesadillas sound amazing! I’m so trying that. š
OOOOOO I am such a grilled cheese fan. This looks amazing!
Bec
http://www.dancingthroughsunday.com.au
Thanks, Bec!
Haha, if these are your worst photos you have nothing on me! Lol. Mine are so much worse! It is fun to look back and see the improvements. The cheese, the apple, the spice — this sounds incredible!
Oh, these aren’t the worst! I’ve got a couple of recipes that I want to re-do and re-share and some of the pictures are absolutely mortifying!!
These are beautiful!! Apple and Sriracha sounds so fun. So yum and flavorful! š
Thank you so much, Anu!!
Daaaang, girl! Can I even describe how badly I want to just dive into this awesome grilled cheese?? Totally flipping out over all those awesome flavors you jammed inside it!
Ha ha I love it!! š
Hi Kristen,
How lucky you are to live in Gastown! One of my very favourite places go in Vancouver.
I, too, have been re-doing photos and I’m absolutely horrified at the stuff I posted 2 years ago, lol. I think your pic is good actually and the sandwich looks delicious.! Of course, the latest pics are fabulous and I think you should be entering some grilled cheese contests with this recipe.
I heard it has cooled down out there but it’s blazing hot here this weekend. Time to get back into the pool!
Such a pleasure visiting your blog š Have a great weekend!
I just went back to your blog and saw that you spent a lot of time living on Vancouver Island. I always love meeting another west coaster!
It’s funny looking back at the photos, isn’t it? I sure hope I don’t feel the same way 2 years from now when I look back lol. Hope you have a great weekend too!!
You can’t go wrong with grilled cheese and this version looks delicious. Great new photos with it.
Thanks, Troy!!
I love siracha, but what is siracha butter? Where do you buy/how do you make it?
Hi Christi,
I made it by mixing together sriracha and butter. You can see the recipe here: https://www.theendlessmeal.com/spicy-sriracha-butter/
(You’ll notice in the pictures though that I used a chunky version of sriracha. The smooth stuff in the bottle with the green squeeze top works even better š )
had some havarti cheese and wonderful french county bread leftover from the weekend & just couldn’t face another oatmeal breakfast-so whipped up this sandwich using tangy organic granny smith apples. it was great-my new fav!!
will make it this summer at the beach for everyone!
thanks.
So great to hear this is your new fav. I love this sandwich too!!
One of our most popular sandwiches is a pear and bleu cheese grilled cheese. We serve it on cranberry sourdough from a local bakery and blend the bleu cheese with cream cheese in our Robot Coup to get it nice and smooth. Half of a thinly sliced pear (we use Anjou) and grill it up. Awesome. For meat eaters we recommend adding our thick-sliced peppered bacon.
Thank you so much for the siracha butter idea. Getting that condiment on the outside of the sandwich delivers the flavor without making the inside too soupy. I was going to use an A’njou pear that I had on hand in place of the apple but found that it wasn’t yet ripe. I substituted a smear of Dalmatia fig spread and it’s heaven! LOVE so many things you’re doing on this blog and I adore your idea for a supper club.
Thank you so much, Patrick!!
Tried this with Dubliner cheese we found at Trader Joe’s along with a pink lady apple. Oh, my God. This stuff is dangerous, it’s so good!
What a great idea to add apple!!
Quick question – looking at this picture (and the previous post on how you made the sriracha butter) it looks as though there are bits of crushed chilli? The sriracha sauce we get here is a homogeneous red paste in a squeezy bottle. Are you using sambal oelek?
That’s a good question! The label on the bottle I have says sriracha, but I have also bought sambal oelek in the past and it has looked exactly the same. I always figured they must be the same thing, but maybe the bottles I buy are just labeled wrong.
I think it would be delicious made with any kind of hot spicy sauce so I’d go ahead and use whatever you have on hand š
Lovely sandwich! What got me was the sriracha butter… Sriracha is one of my favorite condiments. Great idea!
Hi Tessa,
I love sriracha too! The more places I can use it the better š Hope you enjoy eating the sandwich as much as I did!!
I want to jump inside this sandwich and get reeeaaalll cozy. Is that weird?
You really did make me laugh out loud. It would be awfully hot and spicy in there but if you’re like me and love the heat, I say go for it, jump inside! š
Delicious flavours! This looks incredible!
Thanks, Jennifer!!